June 29, 2007

...before San Fran Nan said "aye" to applying the Fairness Doctrine to talk radio.

Here's a late-day posting from the liberal blog www.seeingtheforest.com

"I was on a conference call with Speaker Pelosi that just ended.

Taylor Marsh http://www.taylormarsh.com asked about the Fairness Doctrine and Rep. Spence's amendment to prohibit enforcement of the fairness doctrine on conservative talk radio. Speaker Pelosi said this will not come to the floor, that she is solidly behind bringing back the Fairness Doctrine. Update - correction The wording was along the lines of Rep. Slaughter has made this her work to restore it (Fairness Doctrine), Pence's bill won't make it to the floor; they won't be able to stop the Fairness Doctrine through his bill."

Senators Kerry, Clinton, Boxer, Feinstein. Now the Speaker of the House. All in favor of reinstituting the Fairness Doctrine to restrict your First Amendment rights. And there will be other top Democrats who will come out in favor of it, because there is political safety in numbers. The more who are for it, the easier it is for all of them to be for it.

Of course, this is the cowards' way out: they know they can't compete in the marketplace of ideas, so they have to try to dilute the other side of the debate.

Putting it out there in their rhetoric is their first move. The more they talk about it, the more "mainstream" an idea it looks. Once it's been "mainstreamed," then it's easier to make happen. Don't think it will happen? Think it's only election-year talk? Think that at your peril.